February 29, 2008

Social Security Disability Cases Pending, Pending...

Over the next decade, the Social Security Administration's workload will increase substantially. Retirement claims will jump by more than 40 percent and disability claims by nearly 10 percent.

The first wave of 80 million baby boomers has applied for Social Security, and boomers are likely to seek disability benefits in greater numbers than did previous generations.

At a House hearing yesterday, Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue said the agency may have to reinvent itself -- making greater use of technology and streamlined procedures -- to keep up with the boomers as well as whittle down a disability case backlog...

9 Comments

Here some staggering statistics:

At least 16,000 people fighting for SSDI disability benefits died while awaiting a decision (CBS News Report – Disabled And Waiting - 1/14/08). This is more than 4 times the number of Americans killed in the Iraq war since it began.
During 2007, two-thirds of all applicants that were denied - nearly a million people - simply gave up after being turned down the first time (CBS News Report – Failing The Disabled - 1/15/08)
In 2006 there were 2,134,088 new applications for SSDI benefits and as of October 2007, there have been 1,844,898 new claims.
There are about 1,417,103 total pending cases and out of that number, 154,841 are veterans.
Nationally as of September 2007, over 65% of disability cases were denied at the initial stage of the disability claims process and it took from 101.8 – 113.7 days for claimants to receive the initial decision on their claim.
If a claimant appeals the initial denial asking for reconsideration, in all but 10 test states where the reconsideration phase has been removed, 87.3% of cases were denied and the waiting time for this phase was an average of 90.1 days.
750,000 are waiting for hearings with an average wait time of 512 days
Two-thirds of those who appeal an initial rejection eventually win their cases (New York Times 12/10/07)

Social Security Disability Program Issues

SSA customer service is extremely poor and in major need of improvement across the board. The Social Security Disability claims process in particular, which should be done quickly, easily, and with the utmost respect and compassion for this nation’s most fragile population, has instead turned into one of dread, tedium, disrespect and devastation. Here is just a small sampling of the constant complaints we receive and issues we face when applying for our SSD/SSI benefits:

Severe understaffing of SSD workers at all levels of the program
Extraordinary wait times between the different phases of the disability claims process
Employees not returning calls, outright refusing to provide information to claimants (due to high work volume/stress levels?)
Employees greatly lacking in knowledge of Social Security/Federal Regulations - including Freedom of Information Act, Privacy Act, SSD Pre-Hearing review, and hearing on the record processes (due to poor training?)
Complaints of lack of attention or totally ignoring - claimants concerns and medical records provided (due to high work volume/stress levels?)
Claimants getting conflicting/erroneous information depending on whom they happen to talk to at Social Security – causing confusion for claimants and major problems including improper payments and financial penalties (due to poor training?)
Fraud on the part of DDS/OHA offices, ALJ’s, IME’s – purposely manipulating/ignoring information provided to deny claims (rubber stamping of denials to move paperwork off their desks due to high volume of claims and not enough workers?)
Complaints of lost files and files being purposely thrown in the trash (moving paperwork off their desks due to high volume of claims and not enough workers?)
Complaints of having other claimants information improperly filed/mixed in where it doesn’t belong causing breach of security (high stress/work volumes can lead to increased mistakes by workers)
Complaints of backlogs at payment processing centers for initial payments once claim is approved (not enough workers?)
Employees being rude/insensitive to claimants (due to high stress levels?)
Poor/little coordination of information between the different departments and phases of the disability process
These complaints refer to all phases of the SSD process including local office, Disability Determinations, Office of Hearings and Appeals, Payment Processing Centers and the Social Security main office in MD (800 number).

High priority should be given to increase SSA staffing levels, and provide better employee training, in all phases of the disability process, especially in the initial contact phases with field offices and DSS offices across the board. Instead we are hearing that staff levels are being reduced as backlogs in the system are increasing! We fear that inadequate staffing levels and increased work load have caused and will continue to cause “rubber stamping” of SSD case denials across all phases of the disability program in order to meet paperwork processing goals. Another fear is that we will again experience the “disappearance” or dumping of case files as was discovered in Milwaukee a few years back.

Until these issues are addressed, disabled Americans will continue to suffer at the hands of a Federal government program that was originally put in place to help, not harm them. Current census data states that 18% of the US population is disabled and surely that number will continue to rise. As we head into a crucial election time in November, it is extremely important for the current and future members of Congress to take our concerns very seriously. We may be disabled but we still vote! As you can see from the statistics quoted above, time is of the utmost importance, as this is literally a matter of life and death and financial wellbeing for millions of Americans.

I would like to comment about the Social Security Office in Visalia, Ca. I have had so much trouble with 2 workers their the first worker her name is Mrs. Medina and the other is Mrs. Espinoza they bought take forever to answer your calls actualley they never and when they do they are very rood and seem like they have no interest in helping you. My son is still whaiting for his back pay and it has been a year already and they say his account number is wrong but all the information is correct. They're just not doing their job and they don't care. I wish someone could actualley help us.

MY NAME IS JAMES MEGINN AND I APPLIED FOR DISABILITY IN 2006..I HAVE ALAWYER WE WENT TO COURT 1 TIME IN 2006 AND I GOT TURNED DOWN,WE FILED AN APPEAL AND THEY SENT ME A LETTER IN 2008 SAYING THEY WAS GOING TO SEND ME ANOTHER LETTER IN 28 DAY TO LET ME KNOW WHEN TO GO TO COURT AND HERE ITS 2010 AND I HAVENT RECEIVED ANTHING YET ABOUT GOING TO COURT..I HAVE A PACEMAKER 4 BRADYCARDIA AND ATRIAL FIBULATION..IVE HAD SEVERAL ICSHEMIC STROKES..I WAS A MEAT CUTTER BUT SINCE I HAD THESE STROKES MY DOCTOR PUT ME ON BLOOD THINNER WHERE AS NOW I CANNOT DO THE JOB THAT I KNOW AND THE THE JOB PLACEMENT SPECIALIST AGREED THAT I COULD NOT WORK HAVING MINI STROKES..AND THE JUDGE STILL DENIED MY CASE.I HOPE SOMEBODY READS THIS AS I AM REALLY DEPRESSED AND HOPEFULLY DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS TYPE OF SITUATION..THANK YOU ..JAMES MEGINN

ALL THESE PEOPLE SOUND DISABLED, WERE THEY BORN IN AMERICA,THEN THEIR DENIED. TAKE THE DISABILITY TEST, PICK A NUMBER BETWEEN ONE AND THREE-WRONG BLUE,DENIED AGAIN. HOW ABOUT A RECONSIDERATION, WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR-WRONG, SPUTNIK. ONE MORE TRY, YOU CAN SEE THE ALJ. JUDGE, I BROUGHT A LAWYER BUT HIS DOG ATE HIS BRIEFS, HE WANTS THE MONEY, SO THAT IS WHY HE IS HERE TODAY. I GUESS YOU WILL SEE. SEA, ANYONE THAT CAN GO TO SEA ISN'T DISABLED, YOUR DENIED. LAST TRY, APPEAL, TO BE SPECIFIC, A BANANA PEEL. YOU WILL SLIP AND SLIDE ON THAT PEEL UNTIL LAND ON YOUR SORE ASS, PENNILESS, BECAUSE THEY WON'T GIVE YOU THE DISABILITY YOU PAYED FOR.
AT THE END OF THE DAY, SOCIAL SECURITY WILL SAY THEY ARE FAIR. I DON'T KNOW WHAT KIND OF FAIR THEY MEAN, PROBABLY THE KIND WITH CLOWNS,SIDE SHOW, SMALL PEOPLE,TWO FACED PEOPLE, AND RING MASTERS THAT DON'T WANT YOU TO GO HOME WITH YOUR MONEY, THEN THEY ARE FAIR. I WOULD RATHER BE WATERBOARDED THAN DEAL WITH SSD. THESE ARE MY OPINIONS, I'M JUST SHARING THEM.

All of those statistics are unbelievable. I still can't get over that in 2006 4x more people died awaiting their disability decision, than people fighting in the Iraq war. We need to find a way to fix this problem.

I live in North Carolina and I just hope that this dilemma with ssdi cases gets fixed soon because the rules under the social security act state that your impairment must keep you from doing any kind of ganiful and substantial work for at least one year well i've been disabled for more than that i'm in a power wheelchair and my condition is worsening and all my doctors state that my condition is not even getting better, my doctors even document that my condition is permanent. I moved here from New York with all my evidence and proof and the doctors are cluless on what to do plus i'm supposed to get my continuation of my medications and they still don't know what to do what a Pittiful State NORTH CAROLINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm 25 years old i'm told that when your below the age of 50 it is hard to get SSDI well i have lots of work credits plus i'm entitled for TitleII of the social security act and do not qualify for SSI which is good on my part but SSA sends me to two doctors they both ask why i am here don't understand why i am here by just looking at me i suffer from a few impairments from the list of be disabled and get denied twice WTF i can't understand plus i believe that every SSA office has a Judge back their who told to deny all SSDI and SSI claims, SSA in Venture Drive Smithfield, NC. 27577 THATS ESPECIALLY WHERE THE JUDGE IS DENYING ALL CLAIMS

Frankie Mastrangelo is the moderator for both the Justice For All (JFA) national email listerv as well as for the JFActivist blog. She is also an organizer for the American Association of People with Disabilities in Washington, D.C.